29 January 2014: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has released the 11th edition of the Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report, which provides an update on countries’ progress towards the global education goals that were agreed in 2000. The report indicates that the goals will not be reached by 2015, with 57 million children still not enrolled at school, and poor quality education holding back learning even for those who make it at school.

The report, prepared by the EFA Global Monitoring Report team, is an independent publication commissioned by UNESCO on behalf of the international community. It finds that one third of primary school age children are not learning the basics, whether they have been to school or not.

The report contains sections on: monitoring progress towards the EFA goals; education transforms life; and supporting teachers to end the learning crisis.

To reach the EFA goals, the report calls on governments to: redouble efforts to provide learning to all who face disadvantages; and step up efforts to recruit an additional 1.6 million teachers to achieve universal primary education by 2015.To provide the best teachers to reach all children with a high-quality education, the report identifies four strategies: the right teachers must be selected to reflect the diversity of the children they will be teaching; teachers must be trained to support the weakest learners, starting from the early grades; inequalities in learning must be overcome by allocating the best teachers to the most challenging parts of a country; and governments must provide teachers with the right mix of incentives to encourage them to remain in the profession and to make sure all children are learning, regardless of their circumstances.

Noting the cost of these policy changes – basic education is currently underfunded by US$26 billion a year – the report calls for a shift in funding. It further stresses the need for goals that are clear and measurable, to allow for tracking and monitoring. [Report Webpage] [Publication: Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality for All] [UN Press Release]